I do, however, still use a memory palace as a mnemonic device on most days. It’s a pretty short one — just the floors in my office building — but there’s only one place where I need to use it — the only place where I don’t have access to my todo list: Shower thoughts. I do some of my best thinking in the shower; the freedom from other distractions is probably a big part of it. Inevitably, I end up with a list of multiple, disconnected thoughts that I want to take action on: new ways to approach work I want to do, ideas for fun new projects, or things to look into. All of these end up feeling really important, so I cram them into my short-term memory and inevitably sprint out of the shower to go write them down somewhere more permanent.